1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording method.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that an ink containing a pigment as a color material (hereinafter also referred to as a “pigment ink”) has high image fastness as compared with an ink containing a dye (hereinafter also referred to as a “dye ink”). However, an image recorded using the pigment ink has low glossiness as compared with an image recorded using the dye ink.
As a technique for improving the glossiness of an image recorded using a pigment ink, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-39006 discloses a technique for applying a clear ink containing a polymer emulsion to the image recorded using a pigment ink.
However, when the present inventors have examined the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-39006, there was a case where sufficient glossiness was not obtained. Specifically, in an image recorded with an ink of a certain hue, high glossiness was obtained but, in an image recorded with an ink of another hue, high glossiness was not obtained. Therefore, the glossiness of the images recorded using inks of two or more different hues was not uniform.